Danny Boyle and Mike Leigh vie for best film award at London film festival

Danny Boyle will go toe to toe with Mike Leigh for the best film award at next month's London film festival. Boyle's 127 Hours and Leigh's Another Year are on an 11-strong shortlist competing for the top honour. Last year's winner was A Prophet (Un prophète), an acclaimed prison drama from writer-director Jacques Audiard. This year's jury will be headed by the American actor Patricia Clarkson, whose credits include Dogville, Far From Heaven and The Station Agent. "It's an honour to be on such a prestigious film jury and a pleasure to be judging a shortlist which includes such a diverse range of films from some of the most exciting film-makers around," Clarkson said in a statement. Among the other pictures in contention for the best film prize are Darren Aronofsky's The Black Swan, the Toronto winner The King's Speech and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes film festival. The 54th BFI London film festival runs 13-28 October.